Tharpakar

It’s incredible to me, the degree to which the Western media nitpicks its news and reportage. The world could be beset with biblical-scale floods of diarrhea and nacho cheese, and most of our news organizations would still be yammering on about Kim Kardashian’s ass. Indeed, Arctic clathrate meltdown could easily decimate civilization as we know it, but you won’t hear about that when a crack-smoking Toronto mayor is in the headlines, and the meaningful stuff is otherwise lost in a sea of celebrity divorces.

That being said, I feel that it’s necessary for some of us to, at least once in a while, utilize the Internet for personal reporting and the spread of more important news.

Something I’ve been following for the past few weeks is the ongoing drought and subsequent famine in the Tharpakar region of Pakistan. As it stands, 294 people have died (as of January 2, 2015). SAMAA TV reports that, “… children have died in Mithi, Chhachhro, Islamkot, Nangarparkar and other areas of the district, where death has become a routine, unfortunately… The number of dying children is increasing especially after the onset of winter, as they are affected rapidly by chest infections, like pneumonia.”

Thankfully, one non-profit, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) in Canada is taking donations to help relief efforts. You can donate to help the people of the Thar desert HERE.

While I know that I have maybe only a handful of readers, if ANY of you, or ANYONE, comes across this post, PLEASE share the above link and spread the news about this ongoing disaster.

Now, I don’t want to politicize such a disaster, but I will put in my two cents about potential causes. I will end this article by letting you know that much of the change in the monsoon season that many people in Pakistan depend on is correlated with global warming and climate change. (This is also reported here.) The IPCC has stated that, as the planet warms, dry areas will undoubtedly become drier, and agriculture will thus be affected. If we want to prevent future disasters like this, we need to drastically step up our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and scrub carbon from the atmosphere.

With that in mind, let’s make 2015 a year of much-needed progress. Here’s wishing the people of the Thar much love and quick relief, and wishing you all a happy, and fruitful, new year…